(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the disposing of cotton burrs from a cotton gin. A cotton ginner or a cotton farmer is one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.
Applicant believes the application to be in the field of lignocellulose comminution and classification, and more particularly to comminuting cotton burrs and gin trash and sizing them by screening and classifying a size by air separation.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
As used herein, "lint" is used to refer to the cotton product which has traditionally been spun into yarn and woven into cloth.
The term "harvested cotton" refers to the product that the farmer harvests, which includes seed cotton, burrs, and other trash.
The term "seed cotton" refers to the lint with seed in place.
The term "burrs" represents the woody or fibrous part of the cotton boll which is neither lint nor seed, but does not include bract, leaves or stems.
The term "gin trash" represents everything harvested by the farmer except the lint and seed, and specifically including burrs, stems, limbs, bract and dried leaves. Because of the imperfections of the cleaning process within the gin, the gin trash will contain about 2% by weight of lint.
In certain parts of the U.S., cotton is customarily harvested by stripping. I.e., after the cotton plant is dry, either as the result of frost or chemical action, the cotton bolls are stripped from the plant. In the stripping process, a certain amount of leaves, sticks, and limbs are also taken from the plant, as well as the entire boll, including the burr, lint and seed, and taken to the cotton gin. Traditionally, the cotton has removes the burrs, sticks, limbs, and leaf trash and disposed of them. Then the seed cotton is further processed to lint and seed through the cotton gin. Always, the lint has been a valuable product for cloth. For many years, seed been recognized as a valuable product for the oil and meal.
Normally, the cotton burrs have been considered to be unwanted trash that was difficult to dispose of. The main uses that anyone has been able to put the burrs to have been to burn them as a fuel or to apply them to the soil as a source of humus. Before environmental controls, burrs were burned as a method of disposal. In recent years, they have customarily been distributed to farm fields, more as a method of disposal than for benefit to the fields. Normally, the burrs will be mixed with other trash, including all of the leaves, sticks, and weed seeds. Weed seeds and certain plant diseases carried by the burrs make them less desirable as a source of humus to be returned to the farms.
Some burrs have been used as fiber or roughage in cattle feed. However, the lignocellulose structure of burrs is that of softwoods; therefore, the use in cattle feed is of limited benefit.
Before this application was filed, Applicant caused a search to be made in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The searcher reported the following nine patents:
Gilman, U.S. Pat. No. 81,622 PA1 Boyd, U.S. Pat. No. 661,166 PA1 Meurling, U.S. Pat. No. 1,123,344 PA1 Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,671 PA1 Heritage, U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,171 PA1 Goldman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,178 PA1 Foerster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,017 PA1 Leinfeld, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,461 PA1 Winch, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,267
These patents are considered pertinent only because the applicant believes the Examiner would consider anything revealed by the search to be relevant and pertinent to the examination of this application.